Cherry Pancakes - Video Recipe

It's cherry season in California and now is the time to get them cheap. They come on sale at my local 99c Only Store and Latin market for, you guessed it, 99 cents per pound. So watch my video below to get a breakfast recipe I think you will enjoy: Cherry Pancakes.

Cherry Pancakes - Video

Play it here. video runs 1 minute 46 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Cherries are notoriously expensive, but for a month or so they come down in price, and I always get a few large bags during the summer season. At first appearance, they are around $2 per pound, but wait a week or two and the price quickly drops.

I like to add them to yogurt or as a mealtime dessert -- I'll also nibble from small bowls throughout the day. They are especially good in pancakes like almost any seasonal fruit would be. And if cherries are too expensive or hard to get, you can substitute with your own local fruit stand favorites, or even can/jar cherries.

They are a little messy to work with though, so you want to rinse off any surfaces that the cherry juice pools on, and especially clothing or kitchen towels.

It's much easier to just pop one in your mouth and chew around the cherry pit. But for pancakes, it's best to slice around the cherry pit and twist cherry halves apart, then dig out the cherry pit. Once you get going it only takes a few minutes to get a cup full for my Cherry Pancake recipe.

A chopstick or plastic straw can push out a cherry pit, too. You can go online to get a special device that pits them as well.

For the pancake batter, I use a commercial brand. If you have a homemade recipe then use it. I can get a large box of dry pancake batter at my local 99c only Store. The regular grocery store sells it cheap enough, too.

Start your day right, with my fruity cheap$kate breakfast of Cherry Pancakes.

Ingredients (2 servings, using a pancake mix)

• 1 cup Pancake Mix - use any favorite.
• 3/4 cup Water - okay to use milk for a richer pancake batter.
• Handful of Cherries - sliced or chopped. Use any cherry amount that suits your taste. Okay to substitute with any fresh seasonal fruit like blueberry, peach, apricot, strawberry, and even sliced banana or canned fruit.
• 1 tablespoon of Cooking Oil - to grease skillet. I like coconut oil. Add more when needed, depending on how many pancakes you make.
• Butter and your favorite Pancake Syrup - add as much as you like. I sometimes substitute coconut oil for butter.
• Okay to use vegan pancake batter.

Directions
Prepare pancake batter according to package directions. My pancake mix calls for 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water.

Mix pancake ingredients in a bowl. When mixed it will be like thick country gravy.

Start to heat the pan over a medium/low heat.

Rinse off cherries. Removing the cherry pit is messy, with red juice that will stain clothing or a wood cutting board, so don't wait too long to rinse off any juice that gets onto surfaces or clothing.

I like to slice cherries this way: Cut through to the center of a cherry and rotate while slicing all the way around and twist the cherry apart. One-half of the cherry will have the cherry pit. Slice around the pit to remove.

You can let the cherry pieces be on the large size.

I like to place fruit down on the pan first so it is in direct contact with the skillet for a little caramelization. You want to pour batter on the sliced cherries so it sticks to the pancake when you flip it. 

Okay to mix sliced cherries into pancake batter.

Add oil to the pancake pan and pour on the pancake batter. Brown each side of the pancake. Mine took about 2-3 minutes for each side. It really depends on how hot your pan gets. The box directions above mention the cooking time to brown each side as 1.5 minutes each....hmmmm, they must be using a super hot pan!

If you want a dark brown pancake presentation, then just cook one side to get the right amount of brown, then cook the other side for a minute, to finish cooking through the raw batter. Serve browned side up, on the plate.

Serve hot with melted butter or coconut oil, and your favorite pancake syrup.